Diet and Behavior

Intent on finding the impact of different time-of-day eating patterns on incidence of lifetime mood disorders, 1304 subjects are assessed on their food and drink intake over 24 hours during the years 2004-2006. Their lifetime mood disorder was measured at follow-up (5 years later) using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Three eating habits were identified: grazing (intake spread across the day); traditional (highest intakes as breakfast, lunch and dinner); and late (either skipped or delayed breakfast with greater consumption in the evening). Compared to the adults in the respective pattern at baseline and follow-up, a higher prevalence of mood disorder was seen in the highest third of the “late” pattern (PR=2.04), and a lower incidence observed in the highest third of those eating in the “traditional” pattern (PR=0.31). It was found that the adults in this cohort population who experienced a mood disorder during the follow-up had a 1.07 higher relative risk of being in a higher “late” pattern score category than those who were not reported with a mood disorder. This suggests that having an eating pattern that involves skipping or delaying breakfast may increase risk of developing mood disorders.

This 2019 cross-sectional study involved assessing the relationship between breakfast habits and daily food consumption, with well-being and sleep quality in a group of 66 healthy young adults. Lifestyle questionnaires and dietary recalls helped identify daily consumption and eating patterns in the study group, while 7-day actigraphy and sleep diaries tracked sleep quality. Increased breakfast frequency over the week showed significant improvements in perceived waking alertness, and was correlated with lower energy and fat intake across a day. There was also a positive association found between breakfast frequency with perceived sleep quality and perceived waking mood, although no association was discovered with measured sleep duration, latency and efficiency. When examining the breakfast groups (determined by whether breakfast is consumed 7 days/week or skipped at least once a week), the more consistently breakfast eating group reported higher perceived sleep quality, better mood and alertness upon waking compared to those who skip breakfast (p<0.05). Breakfast consumers took in less energy and carbohydrate per day than those breakfast skippers, although variation between the groups in the sleep outcomes was not reported. Overall, Gwin et. al (2019) have published data to suggest breakfast consumption is associated with mood, sleep health and eating habits in healthy young adults although further studies examining the causal role of breakfast over a longer time period should be encouraged to provide extra evidence.

In this review, Fiese (2018) discusses food-related time allocation in several forms and its relationship with our eating habits. The narrator has drawn from previous studies that the amount of time dedicated to cooking and dining can be associated with cardiovascular risk and BMI, and therefore considers alternative influences in diets and health such as perception of time intensity and direct observation of allocation during meals. Those who feel time pressure or strain may be less likely to get involved in healthy food related activities and could be at a higher risk for health outcomes. Fiese (2018) recommends a socio-ecological approach to the study of time allocation and dietary habits in the United States and provokes the exploration of direct observation of time use.

This experiment investigates whether a messy, chaotic kitchen influences snacking behavior, and explores the possibility that different mindsets can lead to either more or less snacking in female students. One hundred and one undergraduate students experienced one of two conditions in this experiment: 1) a standard kitchen, or 2) a chaotic kitchen. The women’s mindsets were categorised by asking the participants to recall a time when they felt particularly in control or particularly out-of-control. They were then handed cookies, crackers and carrots, and their responses were recorded for analysis. The study found that those with an out-of-control mindset and those placed in the chaotic kitchen consumed more cookies than the in-control mindset subgroup, while the chaotic environment had no impact on carrots or crackers consumption. The untidiness and chaos in the kitchen could make one susceptible to making unhealthy dietary decisions but the mindset of the individual can also trigger or buffer against this vulnerability.

This 2020 study aimed to analyze the effects of exposing individuals to stress and cues (food and neutral) on their food consumption and determine if their responses differ by weight status. The 138 participants were exposed to the cues on 3 separate days (using an individualized script-driven imagery task), before being allowed to eat as many snacks (high- and low- calorie) as they desired after each cue exposure. While food cues were found to elicit significantly greater hunger than neutral and stress stimuli, no difference in cue-induced hunger between weight statuses were observed. Participants also consumed similar numbers in calories after each cue exposure, although a significantly greater proportion (average 81%) came from high-calorie foods in the obese subjects, compared to 63.5% in those in the normal weight category. Weight status did not influence energy contribution from high-calorie foods following the neutral cue, but after the stress cue in particular, 81.4% of what the obese individuals ate were high-calorie snacks, whereas 70.2% of snacks consumed by those with normal weight were calorie-dense. It appears that food and stress cues induced obese participants to consume more high-calorie snack foods than normal weight individuals.

Hess et al. (2016) mentions the benefit of defining a snack and distinguishing between meals and snacks since the labeling of a food as one or the other may affect an individual’s food choice and possibly satiety after consumption. The purpose of this review was to examine the definition of extra eating events, to understand the rationale for eating at these times, and to discover the commonly decided food choices, in order to suggest dietary interventions for improving these habits. In part 1, the writers discussed how snacking is defined, how an individual’s motivation to snack and snack choices can be influenced, while part II presented popular snack choices, overall snacking frequencies, and the demographics of those who snack frequently across several countries. There were also sections inspecting snacking’s relationship with cardiometabolic health markers, while the review concludes with an encouragement to promote nutritious snacks to help prevent nutrient deficiencies.

Nas et al. (2017) tested the hypothesis that the timing of skipping meals may affect risk of obesity and type II diabetes by modulating the circadian regulation of energy balance, glucose metabolism, and postprandial inflammatory responses. In this randomized controlled crossover trial, the 17 subjects underwent this dietary intervention for 3 days, with breakfast skipped on the first day (BSD), before receiving the conventional 3 meals the following day (control), and ending on a dinner skipping day (DSD). Energy and macronutrient balance was measured in a respiration chamber, while the participants’ bloods were monitored for glycaemia and insulin section over 24 hours, as well as inflammatory responses in leukocytes and glucose, insulin levels after food intake. Energy expenditure over the previous 24 hours was reported to be higher in both skipping days when compared with the 3-meal control group, while fat oxidation was greater only in the group who skipped breakfast. No variation was found in spontaneous physical activity, 24-hour glycemia, nor 24-hour insulin secretion between the 3 intervention days. The differences observed between BSD and DSD were increases in postprandial homeostasis model assessment index (+54%), postprandial blood glucose (+46%) and inflammatory potential of peripheral blood cells post-lunch. This trial demonstrated greater energy expenditure in those who skipped meals, and the connection between skipping breakfast with greater fat oxidation and postprandial insulin levels, suggesting that chronic breakfast skipping could irregulate glucose concentrations and lead to inflammation.

Since consumer acceptance is crucial for the success of personalised nutrition services aimed at preventing diseases, Reinders et al. (2020) tried to relate an individual’s ambivalent feelings and contextual factors with their willingness to use the personalised dietary services by obtaining data from 797 participants in the Netherlands through an online survey, and testing and comparing different models. The risk-benefit calculus model showed a positive correlation between weighing benefits and privacy risks with intention to use personalised nutrition advice, while ambivalent feelings were linked with weaker intentions. This suggests greater uptake of personalised services when perceived benefits outweigh risks. Additionally, as eating context was perceived as a barrier to use the services of personalised nutrition, the more ambivalent feelings were experienced. These findings imply that personalised nutrition services may need to address affective concerns and consider an individual’s eating context.

This 2020 article conducted a research project in an urban environment particularly known for unhealthy snacking and attempted to encourage people to consume healthier snacks by making these healthy alternatives more accessible. In stages, Schlinkert and the team (2020) were able to identify a hotspot location for unhealthy snacking (by tracking people’s snacking locations and conducting surveys), develop and brand an attractive snack for the consumers that was accepted as both a healthy and tasty snack as well as the small truck where they would be sold. While selling the snacks from the small truck at the unhealthy snacking hotspot, people were asked for their opinions on the snack and its branding, revealing that the consumers appreciated the snack, the truck and the branding, although the actual sales figures were very low. The common snacking and purchasing habits of the consumers’ may explain the low sales but from the data gathered from this project, easing people’s access to healthy snacks may not be sufficient to encourage consumers to choose healthier snack foods. It was proposed that perhaps selling the healthy snacks directly beside popular snack purchase locations may increase attention and recognition.

Nutrition behaviour and compliance with the Mediterranean diet pyramid recommendations: an Italian survey-based study

Are dietary interventions with a behaviour change theoretical framework effective in changing dietary patterns? A systematic review

Startling sweet temptations: hedonic chocolate deprivation modulates experience, eating behavior, and eyeblink startle

Scheduled meals and scheduled palatable snacks synchronize circadian rhythms: consequences for ingestive behavior

The effects of negative and positive mood induction on eating behaviour: A meta-analysis of laboratory studies in the healthy population and eating and weight disorders

Happy eating: The Single Target Implicit Association Test predicts overeating after positive emotions

The influence of negative urgency, attentional bias, and emotional dimensions on palatable food consumption

Grazing in adults with obesity and eating disorders: A systematic review of associated clinical features and meta-analysis of prevalence

Relating goal-directed behaviour to grazing in persons with obesity with and without eating disorder features

Feeling bad or feeling good, does emotion affect your consumption of food? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence

Fight, flight, - Or grab a bite! Trait emotional and restrained eating style predicts food cue responding under negative emotions

Feeling bad or feeling good, does emotion affect your consumption of food? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence

A systematic review of the association between emotions and eating behaviour in normal and overweight adult populations

A humanities-based explanation for the effects of emotional eating and perceived stress on food choice motives during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The effects of negative and positive mood induction on eating behaviour: A meta-analysis of laboratory studies in the healthy population and eating and weight disorders

Eating when depressed, anxious, bored, or happy: Are emotional eating types associated with unique psychological and physical health correlates?

Is comfort food actually comforting for emotional eaters? A (moderated) mediation analysis

To eat or not to eat: Effects of food availability on reward system activity during food picture viewing

The neurocognitive mechanisms underlying food cravings and snack food consumption. A combined continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) and EEG study

A brief review of salient factors influencing adult eating behaviour

Different and unequal: A qualitative evaluation of salient factors influencing energy intake in adults with overweight and obesity